Angels 9, A's 4
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Albert Pujols hit his 35th home run of the season and rookie left-hander Andrew Heaney allowed three runs in seven innings, leading the Los Angeles Angels to an 9-4 victory over the Oakland A's on Wednesday afternoon at the O.co Coliseum.
Pujols lined a two-run homer in the second inning off A's ace Sonny Gray (12-7).
Pujols has hit at least 35 homers 10 times in his first 15 major-league seasons, one of just four players in major-league history to accomplish the feat. He reached the 35-homer mark for the first time since hitting 37 in 2011, his final season with St. Louis.
Pujols went 2-for-5, drove in three runs and scored twice.
The Angels (67-66) won their second straight game and took two of three games in the series. They went 4-5 on a nine-game road trip.
Heaney (6-2) gave up three runs in the first inning and blanked the A's in the next six, posting his first victory since July 26 against Texas. He allowed seven hits, struck out six and walked none.
Heaney went 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA in his first six starts after being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake but was 0-2 with a 4.78 ERA in his six starts before Wednesday.
Gray lost his third straight game. He gave up a season-high six earned runs and lasted only five innings, matching his season low.
Gray gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out two, equaling another season low. He allowed four runs in the first inning and two in the second, falling to 5-2 for his career against the Angels.
Left fielder David Murphy went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run for the Angels. Right fielder Kole Calhoun had three hits in four at-bats, walked once and scored twice.
Third baseman David Freese went 2-for-4 in his second game after being activated from the disabled list. Center fielder Mike Trout was 2-for-5 with a double and scored a run.
Catcher Josh Phegley hit a two-run homer for the A's, his eighth home run of the season. Second baseman Brett Lawrie went 2-for-4 with his career-high 15th home run and a double. Designated hitter Billy Butler had two hits, including his 300th career double and No. 24 this season.
The Angels sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning, forcing Gray to throw 26 pitches as they built a 4-0 lead.
Calhoun lined a leadoff single off first baseman Mark Canha's glove and moved to third on Trout's single to center. Calhoun scored on a wild pitch and Pujols moved Trout to third with a wicked single that shortstop Marcus Semien got his glove on -- directly in front of his face -- but couldn't catch as he fell backward.
Murphy grounded an RBI single to right, driving in Trout. With one out, first baseman C.J. Cron brought Pujols home with a groundout to make it 3-0. Freese made it 4-0 with a run-scoring single to right.
Lawrie lined a one-out double down the right-field line in the bottom of the first and scored on third baseman Danny Valencia's sharp single to right. Phegley cut the Angels' lead to 4-3 with a two-run homer to straight-away center.
The Angels extended their lead to 6-3 in the second when Calhoun walked with one out and Pujols lined Gray's 0-2 pitch over the left-field wall with two outs.
NOTES: Oakland RHP Evan Scribner suffered a torn right lat Monday night in the ninth inning against the Angels and won't pitch again this season, manager Bob Melvin said. Scribner tore the same muscle in July 2011 while with San Diego and missed the rest of that season. The reliever is not expected to have surgery. "Prognosis for him in spring training is good," Melvin said. ... A's RHP Cody Martin was optioned to Triple-A Nashville, one day after making his A's debut and first major-league start. Martin gave up five runs on six hits in three innings in a 6-2 loss to the Angels. ... Angels 1B/LF Efren Navarro was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. He has hit .329 with 24 doubles and 29 RBIs for Salt Lake this season. In his first four stints with the Angels this year, he hit .260 in 37 games. ... The Angels are off Thursday before opening a three-game series Friday against Texas, which owns the American League's second wild-card spot, but manager Mike Scioscia said he won't adjust his rotation for the series. "We have a lot of guys that can really use the extra day off," he said. "So that's not in play right now."